Just Once Read online

  Just Once

  Julianne Reid

  [email protected]

  Just Once

  Copyright © June 2017 by Julianne Reid

  First E-book Publication: June 2017

  [email protected]

  All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction, transmission, or distribution of any part of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  This literary work is fiction. Any name, places, characters, or incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental.

  This book is intended for mature, adult audiences only. It contains extremely sexually explicit and graphic scenes and language which may be considered offensive by some readers. This book is strictly intended for those over the age of 18.

  All sexually active characters in this work are 18 years of age or older. All acts of a sexual nature are completely consensual.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Just Once

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Epilogue

  About The Author

  Just Once

  Clare

  For months, my boss had been hinting that I was next in line to be the head of my division, a position I’d worked my butt off for two years. I had my new office all planned out… till they flew Elliot Fairfield in to fill the position. Then, he had the nerve to ask me out. I couldn’t deny that I was attracted to him but I was way too pissed off to even consider it.

  Six months later, I’m still annoyed that I lost that position… but now I see how he did it. Elliot is charming, confident, and very capable. With my rage gone, all I can think about is how wrong it would be to sleep with my boss…

  Elliot

  One thing was for certain… at first, Clare Andrews hated me. I had no idea she’d been set up for the promotion and that, instead of fulfilling their agreement with her, they’d brought me in for the position. But it didn’t matter; I was her new boss. I already toed the company policy by asking her out for a drink, only a polite move since I’d need to get to know her and possibly smooth over the mess HR had created.

  Now that things have calmed down, I wished Clare wasn’t in my division. She was smart, sexy, and assertive; I liked it. It was hard not to be a smart ass and flirt with her every chance I got. Being her boss, there was no way I could ever have her; company policy or not. But… I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen just once…

  If you like temptation with a side of steamy seduction, this short story is sure to satisfy. Pour yourself a drink and enjoy!

  Chapter 1

  Clare

  I set the files down on the edge of Elliot’s desk with an intentional thud. I’d stopped calling him Mr. Fairfield two days into his promotion. Part of it was in protest of him getting the job over me, the other part had to do with the fact that he was my age. I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of calling him ‘sir’ like I did the balding, overweight partners in the company.

  “Thanks, Clare.”

  He closed a portfolio on his desk, setting it on the breakfront behind him. He loosened his tie just a little. I wanted to roll my eyes. He always dressed sharply, fresh suits cleanly pressed. I had no doubt that the company partners were impressed by him; he looked like he stepped off a photo-shoot for GQ.

  Plus, he was in the boys’ club. I had a lump in my stomach the entire time leading up to the promotion, worried that it would be indeed jerked out from under me and handed haphazardly to an unqualified, inept kiss-ass. Women were rarely promoted in this company and I fought tooth and nail to get where I was; this promotion would’ve been the final cherry on top, the sweet satisfaction that yes, I had made it that far.

  I worked my ass off and made it very well known that I wanted that position; finally getting approval during the last board meeting that I would be promoted. I kept kicking ass and taking names, knowing any sign of weakness I showed could result in that position being handed to someone else. As months went by, my boss ordered new business cards with my name on them as well as new marquee for my office. It was looking better and better.

  Till I got the email.

  AN EMAIL, FOR FUCKS SAKE!

  The Board of Directors met with the partners and sent a memo to the entire company that there would be a change for the head of the division; I was out, Elliot Fairfield was in.

  The good ol’ boys had met and booted me out.

  I was steaming for weeks but didn’t gripe about it. I knew better than to throw a tantrum; that would be exactly what they wanted. ‘This emotional outburst is exactly why we chose to promote Elliot Fairfield over you. Aka. He has a penis, and surely a big one, while you’re just a lowly, sensitive woman who could never perform up to a man’s standard.’

  I was fucking livid but I grit my teeth and plotted my next move.

  If I wasn’t going to be getting the position I was promised, I at least wanted them to promote someone clearly incompetent and make them regret passing me over. I’d hoped that the replacement would’ve been slob, incapable of the work this job demanded. But when Elliot Fairfield strolled in with his tailored jackets and designer shoes, I knew he was more than I bargained for.

  Not only did he look the part of the division head but he acted like it, too, and it pissed me the hell off. He was much more organized than I’d hoped for. Elliot was very methodical and controlled; a very capable man. I hated him even more for it.

  “Where did you go for lunch?” he asked, blue eyes looking up at me from his desk, trying to be friendly. I wanted to shove that fake attitude up his ass.

  I controlled my grin, the calculating move about to have a big payoff. “I had to run some errands and pick up a few things for tonight.”

  Elliot took a second to realize what I’d said, satisfaction washing over me. In what world would this asshole ever be better than me? Fucking Board of Directors.

  “Shit!” he swore, breaking his strong, composed demeanor, “Fuck. The Christmas party. Damnit. Can you-”

  I knew he’d forget that we were all supposed to bring a bottle of liquor for the Christmas exchange that evening. Just like those good ol’ boys: there was sure to be plenty of liquor and cigars.

  “Already done,” I cut him off, trying to quell my cheeky grin. Check and mate.

  He cocked his head, frowning, his handsome face perplexed. God, it was fucking rewarding to have the upper hand on him.

  I tossed his credit card on the portfolio in front of him, folding my hands together. “You got a bottle of scotch. Mr. Tannen’s favorite. Very nice. Good job.”

  Elliot smirked, picking up his credit card, holding it up between two fingers, trying in vain to seem like he hadn’t failed.

  “And you got this how?”

  I sank into one of the plush leather chairs in front of his desk, perching my elbow on the edge of the armrest, balancing my chin on it. Cool. Confident. Sexy. I suddenly wished that my office-appropriate blouse was unbuttoned further.

  “Ask me a serious question,” I purred, wondering how long it would take him to realize that he always left his wallet in his suit jacket and that’s where I got it from any time he asked me to get him lunch.

  Getting him fucking lunch. Like I was some goddamn office floozy. As a member of the good ol’ boys club, women were expendable, glorified servants only there for whatever he needed. I hated the fact that he was technically my boss now and I did have to do some of what he asked.

  I bided my time caref
ully, knowing that I didn’t get this far by being a complete asshole, grabbing him lunch when I got mine. If he asked me to pick up his dry cleaning, I would’ve knocked his teeth in. No fucking way was I going to be a damn courier service or a maid.

  But at this point, doing those few errands had paid off. I’d done what he needed before he even realized he needed it. I’d been one step ahead of him, just the way I liked it. I wanted to cement it further in his head that I was still better than him. I wanted to grab his perfectly gelled hair and force it down his throat.

  Elliot smirked, tapping his pen on his calendar. “Well, thanks… I wouldn’t have had time to pick anything up before tonight.”

  I rose from the chair, heels planted firmly before turning towards the door. “You know, you should really get yourself an assistant.”

  Clearly you can’t handle everything that this job entails.

  I heard him lean back in his leather chair, no doubt crossing his legs and twirling the pen between two fingers. “You offering?”

  Pausing in the doorway, satiated as hell that he took the bait, I turned my head over my shoulder, hair tumbling down. “Baby, you couldn’t afford me.”

  I strode to my office before I could see his reaction. Bomb. Dropped.

  Oh yes the fuck I did.

  Confident as hell, I perched myself at the end of my chair, opening my emails with a click, back straight as I savored my performance. I smiled to myself, way too damn cocky.

  I finished my spreadsheets, emailing them to Elliot and finishing my work. He knew that I was more than qualified for the position he now held and I took every chance I got to remind him. I wanted him to know that if he wasn’t careful, I’d take that job right out from under him.

  Elliot

  I checked the clock. Two more hours until the Christmas party. Clare thought she was such tough shit taking my credit card to get me my bottle of liquor contribution, rubbing it in my face yet again that she should’ve had this job over me.

  Her favorite thing to do was to remind me of my own meetings or do some of my work for me, notes written at the bottom of her emails: ‘Went ahead and finished compiling, labeling, and sending the proposal to the client so you don’t have to. –C’

  It would’ve intimidated anyone else but not me. I knew exactly what she was doing and I actually liked that Clare so driven and assertive. It had seemed like she’d sat back and taken the fact that I’d gotten the job over her, but I knew she just biding her time, gathering her arsenal of defense for the next one. Clare was anything but irrational.

  I saw the light in her office click off, coat over her arm as she left, bag to a liquor store dangling from her hand. She didn’t look down the hallway to where I sat. I had two more conference calls before having to head straight to the party. I’d brought a fresh shirt and suit to throw on before I went; appearances were important to me. I didn’t get where I was today by being a slob.

  Tapping my pen, I wondered what Clare was going home to change into. Surely she wasn’t going to wear the same skirt and blouse she was wearing today. I wondered if she was going to go classy with a black cocktail dress, perhaps something off the shoulder…

  I grit my teeth, scratching out a figure on the spreadsheet in front of me. I knew exactly what Clare was doing. She was trying to distract me from doing my job so she could swoop in and get it herself. She sauntered in and out of my office dropping one-liners and eye-fucking me to get me to fuck up. I smirked. It wasn’t going to happen. I never fucked up.

  It was hard, however, not to be an absolute cocky asshole back to her. I knew if that banter started, I’d have a hard time keeping myself from wanting her in my bed. Strong women turned me the fuck on… But I couldn’t let it get to that point.

  Chapter 2

  Hours Later

  Clare

  I sipped my glass of scotch, the one that I’d bought for Elliot. I wasn’t the biggest fan of scotch, but to play with the big boys, you had to drink like the big boys. I’d never get into the good ol’ boys club, but I’d get as close as I could before making my move. Every action had to have a purpose; this one said ‘Maybe we were wrong about passing over Clare.’

  “Nice bottle of scotch,” a voice said into my ear, breath warm on my shoulder.

  I knew who it was before I even turned to look, smelling the scent of him, fresh and crisp. Fuck, he always looked good.

  Elliot slid to the bar next to me, eyes taking hearty glances up and down my body. I’d bought a new red silk cocktail dress just for the party; I loved the way the silk felt on my skin.

  Pouring himself a glass, Elliot sat on the barstool next to me, glancing around the room. His shoulders held less tension than they had earlier in the day. I wondered what kind of man he was outside of work. Maybe he was actually tolerable in a world where he hadn’t stolen my job out from under me.

  “Same shit, different day, right?” he asked, noticing Mr. Tannen, one of the partners, sucking up to the CEO.

  My lips curled into a smirk, clearly his mouth was different outside of work. “Sucking up goes a long way around here.”

  Elliot chuckled into his drink, sipping it. “Didn’t work out so well for you, did it?”

  I sucked in my cheeks, staying in control, not wanting to lose my temper.

  No, sucking up didn’t work because I don’t have the penis required for the good ol’ boys club. You would know all about that since that’s how you got this job.

  I glanced around the restaurant that Mr. Tannen had reserved for the party, the one on the rooftop of his favorite hotel. We met a lot of clients there rather than our office when they flew in for deals.

  I just need to bide my time till that next promotion. There’s no way in hell that they can pass me up a second time.

  “Relax,” Elliot said, smiling, blue eyes rolling, “You’re more than capable for this job.”

  I turned my head to him, eyebrow rising, feeling the heat flush through my cheeks. “Ready to hand over those office keys?”

  “No,” he grinned, teasing, “But just know that you’ll be up for the next one.”

  I rolled my eyes. I was sick of hearing that. It wasn’t enough. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”

  Elliot set his glass down on the bar, stifling a mischievous grin, the look spreading to his eyes, wolfish. “And if that doesn’t work out, I could use an assistant.”

  I glanced at him smugly, the smell of his fresh cologne in the air, his shirt, tie-less, unbuttoned. I smirked. “Do you have some kind of secretary fetish?”

  He took a second, smiling, no doubt imagining it. His eyes flicked down my back. “Maybe.”

  A heat rushed up my neck. As much as I toyed with him, he’d never been so daring with me before. I took a sip of my scotch, emboldened. I loved the chase, the thrill of the tease. So what if he was my boss? It was only a technicality. We both knew we should’ve been on equal ground.

  Flirting a little bit isn’t a crime.

  Eyes narrowing, I nodded off towards old Mr. Tannen. “I don’t think sleeping your way to the top works around here.”

  Elliot’s warm hand touched my knee, sliding steadily, confidently, up my thigh, under my dress. I met his blue eyes, shocked but so fucking turned on by his audacity.

  “Doesn’t hurt to try,” Elliot winked, rising from his barstool, glass in hand, “Have a good night.”

  He turned to approach the partners, heat rising up my neck, nipples hardening. My pulse beat against my skin like a trapped bird, the feel of his hand on my skin lingering.

  I laughed to myself, biting my knuckle.

  That fucking asshole.

  He’d played me. Out of the office, he was as much of a smartass as I was, playing my game right back to me. And he played it well.

  I grinned wickedly, throwing back the rest of my scotch. It burned its way down my throat. Elliot Fairfield might’ve been my boss, but the way we were playing with fire, I didn’t care who got burned.

  Elliot br />
  I watched Clare as she gathered herself; no doubt flustered by the way I left her. Testosterone throbbed through my veins. I’d won that round. She thought she was the queen of teasing and playing games but she had another thing coming.

  She underestimated me at work; she was making the same mistake now. She had no idea how different I was out of the office. She had no idea just what I was like; she was a fool to think she’d ever have the upper hand on me.

  Clare got up from the bar, that sexy as hell dress hugging all her curves, tousled hair tossed over her shoulder. She walked across the room, eye fucking me the whole way.

  Running my hand over the scruff on my chin, I watched her go; back in the game. I took another sip of my scotch, enjoying myself.

  If you want to play, you better come prepared to lose.

  I kept tabs on her, watching as she flirted with some poor guys from marketing. She kept her back to me, undoubtedly so I could keep staring at her and her perfect ass, pretending like she had no idea what she was doing.

  Sweetheart, you should know I can play this game better than you.

  The guys I stood around continued talking about golf, mentioning that we would all meet up for a round or two on Saturday. I nodded, agreeing, eyes on Clare the whole time. She tossed her hair, glancing at me over her shoulder, come-fuck-me eyes gleaming.

  Blood pumping in my veins, I excused myself from the group and stalked towards her. She laughed at someone’s stupid joke, laying a hand on his arm to pump him up.

  “Excuse me,” I said to the group, placing my hand on her back, right above her ass, “May I have a word?”

  She eyed me like a fly that had just fallen into her trap, confident and hungry. She excused herself from the marketing crew, drooling as they watched her go.